Connecting your fax machine and your telephone requires an active telephone line. You can connect both devices using a single phone line or separate lines for each device. Regardless of which option you choose, you must pay close attention to the jacks located on the back of the fax machine to ensure proper cable placement. However, this does not guarantee you can use both devices at the same time.

Two-Line Connectivity

To connect your telephone and your fax machine using two separate telephone lines, you connect one end of the cable into the wall jack for your fax line and the other end of the cable into the jack typically labeled “Line” found on the back of the fax machine. Sometimes this jack features an icon of a cable going into a wall jack as the label rather than the written word. You then connect one end of a second cable into the wall jack for your telephone line and the other end of the cable into the jack on your telephone.

Single-Line Connectivity

Connecting your telephone and your fax machine to the same phone line requires that you plug one end of the cable into the wall jack and the other end into the “Line” jack found on the back of your fax machine. You then connect one end of a second cable to the jack on your telephone and the other end of that cable to the jack labeled “Phone” on the back of the fax machine. Sometimes this jack features an icon of a telephone rather than the written word.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Using two separate telephone lines offer the most flexibility because you can send and receive fax messages and telephone calls at the same time. When the devices share a single phone line, you cannot receive a fax while using the telephone and vice versa. If you decide to install a second phone line, you must contact your phone company, and the line comes at an additional monthly fee. This fee varies among phone service providers.

Troubleshooting

Check the phone line and verify proper cable placement if you cannot send or receive fax messages. Confirm the phone cord connects firmly into the wall jack and that the other end of the cord connects firmly into the fax machine’s “Line” jack. Connecting the cable to the machine’s “Phone” jack results in the inability to send and receive faxes. If the machine fails to transmit and receive despite proper phone cord placement, then replace the cord. Another option includes unplugging the cord from the back of the fax machine and connecting it to a telephone. If you fail to hear a dial tone, a problem may exist with the fax hardware or with the telephone line.

About the Author

Mindi Orth began writing in 1996 as a technical writer for a consulting firm. She has experience in business documentation and has authored training and instructional materials. Orth holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Baldwin-Wallace College.